Hands-on Labs and the TI-CBL

There has been a lot of discussion about the Harvard Trinity -- Graphics, Numerics, and Symbolics -- but there is another road to understanding that is more important -- direct experience. We believe that direct experience -- seeing, touching, and hearing -- is extraordinarily important. Wherever possible CCP material should include hands-on laboratory work. This can be simple and low-tech or, if you have the equipment, it can be very high tech. The Texas Instruments CBL (calculator-based laboratory) has the best of both worlds -- it is inexpensive but has the power and flexibility of modern technology.

We are using the TI-CBL for several reasons.

It is very inexpensive and widely available. The basic unit with three probes -- light, voltage, and temperature -- is available for well under $200 and it can be used with the TI-82, TI-85/CBL, or TI-92. The TI-82 is well under $100.00.
It is enormously powerful and flexible.
It can be used as a free-standing unit -- students can record air pressure variations while they ski or they can leave the CBL in a field for days or weeks collecting data.
It can be linked to either Macintosh or IBM PC computers.
It is easy to pass data and programs back-and-forth among the TI graphing calculators and computers -- students can take data and programs from class-to-class and back to their homes or dorms.

The MBL (microcomputer based laboratory) has many of the same features and uses many of the same sensors, or probes. You may want to develop material for the MBL.

If you are not yet familar with the TI-CBL we highly recommend that you play with it and consider its use in your classes. Click on the button below for a gentle introduction to just a few of the CBL's features and capabilities. This introduction is aimed at beginners and can be used to introduce students to the CBL.